Post by wendytorrancev1 on Jul 3, 2022 18:44:43 GMT -5
Hey my lovies!!!
I hope everyone is enjoying their holiday weekend! This is the last post I'm making this weekend. I legit talk you guys' ears off and I'm quite embarrassed about it. I'll come out and apologize now. Sorry. I just like talking to fans of wrestling, specifically those from The Attitude Era. It was a great era and is sadly something that is gone with time, as I don't think it could ever be replicated (don't get me started on the "Ruthless Aggression" era, although that's leaps and bounds better than the current product).
I just wanted to peek in and see how everyone was doing this weekend and seeing if everyone was alright.
Because I have one more episode of Stranger Things Season 4 left and I'm savoring it for tonight, I decided to take a trip down memory lane and watch some WWF from late 2000; August/September to be exact.
To be honest, this was actually a really strange time in the WWF, as their younger talent was slowly taking over, with The Rock and Triple H, who were sworn enemies for most of the year, finding a bit of common ground in an enemy named Kurt Angle. I mean, after all, he WAS an interloper and began meddling in their affairs. He was absolutely jealous of The Rock (along with his success in the ring), but to an extent, he was jealous of Triple H, as he wanted to be Triple H with all the perks, including Stephanie.
So it boiled down to Angle wanting to have the prestige of The Rock (along with the WWF Heavyweight Championship) coupled with having the perks of Triple H (I mean, he was kayfabe married to the boss' daughter and therefore could have unlimited resources and support. Scary thought).
I really, really loved the whole love triangle between Hunter, Steph, and Kurt. The acting there rang true (sometimes) and you could feel that these two men absolutely loathed each other.
I think it was either in very, very late August, or very, very early September that Trips and Steph were finally working out the issues in their relationship and just as it seems things were getting back to normal, cops show up at their dressing room door, inform Trips that they are going to take him "downtown" for some questioning, and escort him out of the building.
Now, you guys now I absolutely loved that whole Triple H/Stephanie relationship (and I was devastated when Triple H came back in January 2002 and Linda snitched on Steph not really being pregnant, essentially breaking up their already strained marriage), but I could never see Trips purposefully attacking Stephanie. He did hit her accidently several times (no fault of his own). Then again, The Rock hit her several times, Austin hit her multiple times (after pouring beer on her no less), Rikishi Stink-Faced her (I believe that was after this), and Chris Jericho put her in the Walls of Jericho several times. I know I'm forgetting a few others, but those were the main men who did put their hands on Mrs. Game because she would either talk a lot of shit or try to interfere in their matches to screw them over. Nobody called the cops on them.
Everyone in the McMahon-Helmsley orbit was questioned: Chyna (who had just put hands on Stephanie a few days before), Eddie Guerrero (due to association with Chyna), Kurt Angle, Mick Foley, and even Steph herself.
Then it was revealed that it was Test all along, and I was thinking at the time (and kinda this time because I forgot how the plotline played out to an extent) "Oh shit, this is getting real". You see, Test was still bitter about the whole Trips screwing him over and marrying what was supposed to be Test's wife.
For some inexplicable reason, the silly writers at WWF thought a better main event at Armageddon 1999 would be Triple H vs. Vince McMahon, even though it should have been Triple H vs. Test in a no DQ match. Plain and simple. Test should have had a chance to get even with Triple H, or at least had an attempt to. And don't sit there and say "Well, Wendy, they fought each other the next night on Raw is WAR!" No....that wasn't even a match, and the finish was abysmal. You knew Triple H was going to go over on Test at that match. Not to mention, all the interference. Then after all that, nothing came of it. Triple H immediately saw a weak target in The Big Show and exploited it, gunning for his WWF Heavyweight Championship.
Anyway, sorry, I am getting a bit off track here, Triple H faced off against T&A, all the while, backstage, a grinning Kurt Angle was watching the entire match unfold. There were some pretty good spots in this match and I think it's pretty underrated. However, I didn't like how it made Triple look weak with Angle's help at the end of the match.
The feud between Trips and Test ended again abruptly not a pay-per-view, but on the September 18th, 2000 episode of Raw, where Stephanie (who Triple H laid on top of Test) got the pin, thus ending the match and the feud. Then it was all forgotten. Triple H laser focused back on Angle and it was as if none of that ever happened.
I can see that they were setting up (and successfully did establish) Triple H as a face. I mean, he defeated Angle at Unforgiven 2000, and then went after an errant Benoit a month later to keep him in line.
It was here that they started setting Trips up as a face. The spousal abuse was swept under the rug, as was Test and The Game's rivalry. I will say, that I loved this face version of Triple H at the end of 2000, because he was not to be messed, as he had left his DX buddies in the dust and was now the "Cerebral Assassin". It's just a f***in shame that they ruined what could have been a decent face run for Trips TWICE in a matter of months, both with him being the "mastermind" behind Austin's hit and run plot, and then him joining up with Austin a few months after that when Austin and he tried to legit kill each other at Survivor Series 2000/No Way Out 2001. It made zero sense logically. I am proud to say that The Two Man Power Trip should have never happened. With The Rock gone, who better to oppose an out of control, heel Austin who is going unchecked and is drunk with power? That's another story for a another time, however.
I wish we could have gotten more Triple H/Test action. We sort of got a mini Test/Steph reunion when Test went full on heel (I think he was always a "tweener") and joined forces with Steph against The Rock, as that was their biggest opposition of firmly supplanting dominance with WCW/ECW during that stupid f***ing Invasion angle, but I think they were grasping at straws at that point.
Anyway, I have gabbed on for far too long. I hope everyone has a great, safe, July 4th!! I love you all and, please, please be safe this weekend!
I hope everyone is enjoying their holiday weekend! This is the last post I'm making this weekend. I legit talk you guys' ears off and I'm quite embarrassed about it. I'll come out and apologize now. Sorry. I just like talking to fans of wrestling, specifically those from The Attitude Era. It was a great era and is sadly something that is gone with time, as I don't think it could ever be replicated (don't get me started on the "Ruthless Aggression" era, although that's leaps and bounds better than the current product).
I just wanted to peek in and see how everyone was doing this weekend and seeing if everyone was alright.
Because I have one more episode of Stranger Things Season 4 left and I'm savoring it for tonight, I decided to take a trip down memory lane and watch some WWF from late 2000; August/September to be exact.
To be honest, this was actually a really strange time in the WWF, as their younger talent was slowly taking over, with The Rock and Triple H, who were sworn enemies for most of the year, finding a bit of common ground in an enemy named Kurt Angle. I mean, after all, he WAS an interloper and began meddling in their affairs. He was absolutely jealous of The Rock (along with his success in the ring), but to an extent, he was jealous of Triple H, as he wanted to be Triple H with all the perks, including Stephanie.
So it boiled down to Angle wanting to have the prestige of The Rock (along with the WWF Heavyweight Championship) coupled with having the perks of Triple H (I mean, he was kayfabe married to the boss' daughter and therefore could have unlimited resources and support. Scary thought).
I really, really loved the whole love triangle between Hunter, Steph, and Kurt. The acting there rang true (sometimes) and you could feel that these two men absolutely loathed each other.
I think it was either in very, very late August, or very, very early September that Trips and Steph were finally working out the issues in their relationship and just as it seems things were getting back to normal, cops show up at their dressing room door, inform Trips that they are going to take him "downtown" for some questioning, and escort him out of the building.
Now, you guys now I absolutely loved that whole Triple H/Stephanie relationship (and I was devastated when Triple H came back in January 2002 and Linda snitched on Steph not really being pregnant, essentially breaking up their already strained marriage), but I could never see Trips purposefully attacking Stephanie. He did hit her accidently several times (no fault of his own). Then again, The Rock hit her several times, Austin hit her multiple times (after pouring beer on her no less), Rikishi Stink-Faced her (I believe that was after this), and Chris Jericho put her in the Walls of Jericho several times. I know I'm forgetting a few others, but those were the main men who did put their hands on Mrs. Game because she would either talk a lot of shit or try to interfere in their matches to screw them over. Nobody called the cops on them.
Everyone in the McMahon-Helmsley orbit was questioned: Chyna (who had just put hands on Stephanie a few days before), Eddie Guerrero (due to association with Chyna), Kurt Angle, Mick Foley, and even Steph herself.
Then it was revealed that it was Test all along, and I was thinking at the time (and kinda this time because I forgot how the plotline played out to an extent) "Oh shit, this is getting real". You see, Test was still bitter about the whole Trips screwing him over and marrying what was supposed to be Test's wife.
For some inexplicable reason, the silly writers at WWF thought a better main event at Armageddon 1999 would be Triple H vs. Vince McMahon, even though it should have been Triple H vs. Test in a no DQ match. Plain and simple. Test should have had a chance to get even with Triple H, or at least had an attempt to. And don't sit there and say "Well, Wendy, they fought each other the next night on Raw is WAR!" No....that wasn't even a match, and the finish was abysmal. You knew Triple H was going to go over on Test at that match. Not to mention, all the interference. Then after all that, nothing came of it. Triple H immediately saw a weak target in The Big Show and exploited it, gunning for his WWF Heavyweight Championship.
Anyway, sorry, I am getting a bit off track here, Triple H faced off against T&A, all the while, backstage, a grinning Kurt Angle was watching the entire match unfold. There were some pretty good spots in this match and I think it's pretty underrated. However, I didn't like how it made Triple look weak with Angle's help at the end of the match.
The feud between Trips and Test ended again abruptly not a pay-per-view, but on the September 18th, 2000 episode of Raw, where Stephanie (who Triple H laid on top of Test) got the pin, thus ending the match and the feud. Then it was all forgotten. Triple H laser focused back on Angle and it was as if none of that ever happened.
I can see that they were setting up (and successfully did establish) Triple H as a face. I mean, he defeated Angle at Unforgiven 2000, and then went after an errant Benoit a month later to keep him in line.
It was here that they started setting Trips up as a face. The spousal abuse was swept under the rug, as was Test and The Game's rivalry. I will say, that I loved this face version of Triple H at the end of 2000, because he was not to be messed, as he had left his DX buddies in the dust and was now the "Cerebral Assassin". It's just a f***in shame that they ruined what could have been a decent face run for Trips TWICE in a matter of months, both with him being the "mastermind" behind Austin's hit and run plot, and then him joining up with Austin a few months after that when Austin and he tried to legit kill each other at Survivor Series 2000/No Way Out 2001. It made zero sense logically. I am proud to say that The Two Man Power Trip should have never happened. With The Rock gone, who better to oppose an out of control, heel Austin who is going unchecked and is drunk with power? That's another story for a another time, however.
I wish we could have gotten more Triple H/Test action. We sort of got a mini Test/Steph reunion when Test went full on heel (I think he was always a "tweener") and joined forces with Steph against The Rock, as that was their biggest opposition of firmly supplanting dominance with WCW/ECW during that stupid f***ing Invasion angle, but I think they were grasping at straws at that point.
Anyway, I have gabbed on for far too long. I hope everyone has a great, safe, July 4th!! I love you all and, please, please be safe this weekend!
